I am disappoint.

Honestly, I think this game is part of the video-gaming legends. Perfect musics, perfect visuals, perfect gameplay and perfect difficulty. You might also say it is the first Metroidvania / Castleroid game.
So why no rom hack, utility, or project revolving around it ?

I would make one, if I knew how to. Placing enemies differently, re-drawing the world, modifying the equipment, ... ...I don't know why, but I'm very excited just thinking about it. Truth is, Wonderboy III has a special place in my heart. Someone said that, if this game had been made by Nintendo, it would be rated much higher. I completely agree with this statement.

So yeah. I'm waiting for some kind of rom-hack, or just an utility to mod the game. I already know I would spend months or even years playing around with it. Is there a talented hacker out there, who would be interested in this game ? I sure hope so. I can't be the only guy who spent my childhood dreaming about Monster World, Lizard Man, Mouse Man, Pirhana Man, Lion Man and Hawk Man !

EDIT:

Oh yeah, and just to make it clear, I'm still working on my project, and it's going smoothly I have no intention to quit my project for a new one, since I'm perhaps 95% done on FFVII TG (yes, not AV, TG... ...I had new ideas that even made me change the mod's name ^^). So yeah, don't assume I quit because I'm bringing up this subject. I know how people who change projects are looked upon here, and I understand why. Too many rom-hacking projects are never completed, but it won't be the case with my Final Fantasy VII mod 

Ah yes, I admit I forgot to check out the PC Engine and GG versions. Were hacks made for these ?

And no, I never heard of Super Adventure Island 2 until now. I just checked out GameFaqs by curiosity, and the ratings seem to be so-so. I know not to trust reviews too much though (I recall Kartia and Brigandine on PSX were shot down by the critics, but I had a lot of fun with them). I like the graphics, and I'll have to try it. Thanks

All of those games are great.  I'll have to check out Super Adventure Island 2 and Monster World IV(in terms of hacking).

Hey guys, I found a rom hack of this game !

http://www.idealsoftblog.it/2009/02/dragon-curse-il-remake-freeware-di.html

...Well, it's not exactly a rom hack, since it's a freeware app for PC. The author changed many, many things in the game. And it's crazy hard... ...To give you an idea, I can't even find the first heart, and the Mummy Dragon kicks my butt. Even with the Mythril equipment (the only one you can buy up to this point, as far as I can tell), enemies hurt you a lot, and since they don't drop resurrection potions and rarely drop health, this quickly becomes a nightmare. There is a download link in the above url, and I only know it works on WinXP.

EDIT:

OK, I found the heart, and beat the dragon. You can also download the game here : http://www.classic-retro-games.com/Wonderboy-III-The-Dragons-Trap_337.html
There is a level editor included, and there are more infos in this thread : http://www.smspower.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10266 ...As well as a link to Lizardmen, another game based on WB3 mechanics.
Video of it in action : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puI-ewjK1dE&feature=related

EDIT2:

I'm done with this Dragon's Curse remake. Seriously, this is such an annoying exercice in frustration. It's been such a long time since I've wanted to throw my controller at my monitor screen. I never felt that Mouse Man lacked range with his sword on SMS or PC Engine, but here, it sure feels. It doesn't help either that when you push the attack button, the sword only displays for, like, a millisecond. And god, the enemy placement / platforming elements... ...It's simple : there is no room for mistakes on your part. Your only hope is through clever use of fireballs / tornados / arrows / boomerangs / lightning, but since you can't buy them or get them in high quantity and they're not that powerful, you'll still end getting screwed up somehow. I also love the fact that I reached the entrance to Zombie Dragon's lair, but I was missing a key. And I couldn't get the key because there was no way to go back to the earlier part of the jungle - so the only way was to basically reset and reload my save (in the freaking town, when the jungle is so huge !).

It's a shame really, because this remake is really great on paper, but when playing it, it makes you so mad. This is so hard, that only the video-game experts will be able to see the later parts of the game. I'm sure later on, the design is still as creative and clever as in the beginning, but when most players have to quit midway because of horrible controls / machiavellian level design, what's the use ?... ...Kudos to the talented players who managed to enter Zombie Dragon's tower / get Pirhana Man / finish the game. If you're one of them, you know you've got insane talent. Here is hoping someone will post a playthrough on youtube or something.

EDIT3:

If I knew how to hack this game, I'd do a few things :

- allow the player to switch from one form to another whenever. This feature would be unlocked as soon as you unlock a new form. That way, even after transforming into Mouse Man, you could turn into Lizard Man with a single button press (of course, som code would prevent you from changing, if mouse man stands in an area too small for other forms to fit into).

- add an experience and level up system. Red monsters would give you 1 XP, green 3 XP, blue 10 XP, and dragons 1000 XP - but monsters' XP would vary depending on their difficulty level (snakes are easier to kill than ninjas, etc). Also, each of your forms would have its own experience and level (and would need 3000 XP to reach level 99). That way, you'd be able to choose which of them you want to level up. The advantages of leveling up, for all forms, would be an increase in damage output, and a slightly higher jump. But the specific boost depending on the form would be :

*Lizard Man : increased fire range, and more HP Regen when in lava (yup, Lizard Man would regain some life after spending some time in lava-filled areas)
*Mouse Man : higher chance to get items x2 after killing a monster, and increased HP Regen when clinging to mouse blocks
*Pirhana Man : higher chance to dodge an attack when struck, and increased HP Regen when in water
*Lion Man : higher chance for an instant death attack (doesn't work on bosses). 1% at level 1, and 30% at maximum level. Also, increased HP Regen when on the ground.
*Hawk Man : higher chance to get gold x2 after killing a monster, and increased HP Regen when flying

After gaining a level, you'd also get 1 AP. You would be able to assign those APs to subweapons, to make them more powerful. Once a subweapon reaches a certain level, you can use two of them for the cost of one. And at max level, you'd get unlimited use of this particular subweapon.

Also, monsters would randomly spawn on screen (except in town), so there'd be no abusing HP regen (especially since the HP Regen would be slow, even at max level).

I'd also keep the CP (Charm Points) system of the original, in which shopkeepers won't show you their wares if they find you too ugly for their tastes. Each armor would give you different CP, so the trick to buy everything would be to find the armor you need to equip so a shopkeeper would shpw you his stuff. There's no buying the Crystal Armor if you don't already have the Prince Armor, for example.

Resurrection potions : you're limited to 5 of them. You could buy the first one at the end of the sea-side path (where lizard man finds the key to the tower), the second one near the Pyramid, the third one near the end of the jungle, the fourth one near Dragon Captain's ship entrance, and the last one near Dragon Samurai's palace entrance. You could only buy each of them once, but if you use one of them, you can go back to its shop to buy it again. To easily see which one you're missing, each of those would have its own color : the 1st one is white, the second one red, the third one green, the fourth one blue, and the last one yellow.

Finally, I would keep the layouts of the original, but expand areas once you've unlocked Hawk Man. In the skies above the pyramid, the jungle, the sea-side area, and Dragon Meka's castle, you'd have new dungeons leading to more powerful versions of the Mummy, Zombie, Captain and Samurai dragons, with new awesome equipment rewards (as well as more experience).

If someone knows what I'd need to pull this off, by all means, post !  This would obviously be a lot of work, but it would make a very fun game, with incentive to kill monsters (thanks to the experience), and a reason to revisit previous areas (to refill your resurrection potions). Not to mention this one would appeal to all kinds of players - the really hard and optional dungeons being available late-game.